Nutrient formulation and process for enhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain or feed efficiency in poultry and other animals

ABSTRACT

A nutrient formulation including moisture, a coloring agent, a palatability modifier, and/or an adjuvant which is designed for use in poultry and other animals, and a method of feeding it which improves subsequent livability, cumulative feed efficiency, weight gain, and resistance to disease challenge or other stresses is disclosed.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 09/334,968, filed Jun. 17, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,718, whichis a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/760,881, filed Dec. 6,1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,680, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 08/647,719, filed May 24, 1996, now U.S. Pat.No. 5,985,336, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.No. 08/597,815, filed Feb. 7, 1996, now abandoned, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/483,297, filed Jun.7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,686, the entire contents of which areherein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a high moisture material forproviding nutrients, drugs, vitamins, minerals, bile salts, surfactants,probiotics, enzymes, peptides, hormones, prostaglandins, antioxidants,living cells, and immunoactive agents to poultry and other animals, andmore particularly, a high moisture material and process which may beused to improve the health and enhance the livability, cumulative weightgain and feed conversion efficiency of poultry and other animals.

For economic reasons, the management of chick hatching in commercialfacilities places high importance on percent chicks hatched of eggs set.To achieve hatch rates of 90%, early-hatching birds are often left inthe hatch incubator for a period of time to allow the later-hatchingchicks to emerge and dry. By the time the chicks are removed from theincubator tray, therefore, they will range in age from several hours upto about 2 days in age (as measured from hatching for each bird). Thisperiod is referred to as the post-hatch holding period.

After the chicks are removed from the incubator trays in a commercialhatchery, they are processed (inoculated and sexed) and then placed inboxes commonly referred to as chick boxes for shipping to the productionfarm. The processing period typically requires several hours and thechicks may reside in the chick boxes for several more hours beforetransit to the production farm actually begins.

Commercial hatcheries for poultry typically provide chicks for a numberof production farms, often over a wide geographical area. Typically,feed and water are not provided until the birds reach the productionfarm and, as a result, the birds may go several days before feed andwater are provided. The presence of the lipid-rich residual yolk sac andreserves of lipid in the liver, however, ensure that the minimalnutritional needs of hatchling birds are met (Freeman et al.,Development of the Avian Embryo, London, Chapman and Hall, 1974). Thus,a period of inanition after hatching is normal in birds and does notnecessarily threaten their survival (Entenman et al., The Lipid Contentof Blood, Liver, and Yolk Sac of the Newly Hatched Chick and the ChangesThat Occur in These Tissues During the First Month of Life, J. BiolChem., Vol. 133, pp. 231-241 (1940); Vanheel et al., Resorption of YolkLipids by the Pigeon Embryo, Comp. Biochem. Physiol., Vol. 68A pp.641-646 (1981); Phelps et al., The Posthatch Physiology of the TurkeyPoult-III. Yolk Depletion and Serum Metabolites, Comp. Biochem.Physiol., Vol. 87A, No. 2 pp. 409-415 (1987); Noble et al., LipidChanges in the Residual Yolk and Liver of the Chick Immediately afterHatching, Biol Neonate, Vol. 56, pp. 228-236 (1989); Chamblee et al,Yolk Sac Absorption and Initiation of Growth in Broilers, PoultryScience, Vol. 72, pp. 1811-1816 (1992)). This does not mean, however,that using yolk residue as the single nutrient source in hatchlings willprovide optimum subsequent livability, disease resistance, or gain andfeed efficiency. The delayed placement has been shown to reducesubsequent livability (Kingston, Some Hatchery Factors Involved in EarlyChick Mortality, Australian Veterinary Jour., Vol. 55, pp. 418-421(1979); Fanguy et al., Effect of Delayed Placement on Mortality andGrowth Performance of Commercial Broilers, Poultry Science, Vol. 59, pp.1215-1220 (1980)), disease resistance (Wyatt et al., Influence ofHatcher Holding Times on Several Physiological Parameters AssociatedWith the Immune System of Chickens, Poultry Science, Vol. 65, pp.2156-2164 (1986); Casteel et al., The Influence of Extended PosthatchHolding Time and Placement Density on Broiler Performance, PoultryScience, Vol. 73, pp. 1679-1684 (1994)) and growth performance (Hager etal., Education and Production Posthatch Incubation Time and Early Growthof Broiler Chickens, Poultry Science, Vol. 62, pp. 247-254 (1983); Wyattet al., Influence of Egg Size, Eggshell Quality, and Posthatch HoldingTime on Broiler Performance, Poultry Science, Vol. 64, pp. 2049-2055(1985); Pinchasov et al., Comparison of Post-Hatch Holding Time andSubsequent Early Performance of Broiler Chicks and Turkey Poults,British Poultry Science, Vol. 34, pp. 111-120 (1993)). Provision ofindividual nutrients such as glucose has not been found to consistentlyor permanently improve performance or livability when administered as asimple solution in the absence of other nutrients (Azahan et al.,Growth, Food Intake and Energy Balance of Layer and Broiler ChickensOffered Glucose in the Drinking Water and the Effect of Dietary ProteinContent, British Poultry Science, Vol. 30, pp. 907-917 (1989); Moran,Effects of Posthatch Glucose on Poults Fed and Fasted During Yolk SacDepletion, Poultry Science, Vol. 68, pp. 1141-1147 (1989); Moran Effectsof Egg Weight, Glucose Administration at Hatch, and Delayed Access toFeed and Water on the Poult at 2 Weeks of Age, Poultry Science, Vol. 69,pp. 1718-1723 (1990)).

Although provision of water and feed can result in performance superiorto that of fasted, water-deprived birds, attempts to include water inthe hatch incubator or in transport boxes have been unsuccessful. Thisis because humidity control and relatively high temperature are criticalin ensuring high hatchability and because water alone or in a simplegruel can escape, resulting in some chicks getting wet. Chicks cannotregulate their body temperature sufficiently well to tolerate cooling byevaporation. Since inanition does not threaten survival, commercialpractice is not to offer feed or water until the animals reach the farm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Among the objects of the invention, therefore, may be noted theprovision of a high moisture material to improve the health and enhancethe livability, cumulative weight gain and feed conversion efficiency ofpoultry and other animals. The formulation may be fed, for example,immediately after hatching or birth of the animal and for thisapplication, the formulation preferably excludes nutrients which are notused well during the first days of life and provides those which arereadily used and confer a performance advantage. Also among the objectsof the invention is a formulation which is stabilized against microbialgrowth, is resistant to syneresis and which can be packaged in bulk,shipped, extruded (with or without prior remixing of the bulk material)and divided into dosage unit form at the location of use of theformulation.

Briefly, therefore, the present invention is directed to a process forenhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain or feedconversion efficiency of poultry. The process comprises feeding thehatchlings a high moisture material before they are started on a dietcomprising dry food. The hatchlings are fed the high moisture materialbeginning at a point in time preferably within the first 5 days ofhatching, more preferably within the first 3 days of hatching. The highmoisture material can contain a coloring agent, palatability modifier,or adjuvant. Whether an adjuvant is present or not, the high moisturematerial also enhances weight gain as well as resistance to diseasechallenge or other stresses in poultry.

The present invention is also directed to a composition and process forinoculating poultry and other animals with living cells such as yeast orbacteria. The animal is fed a high moisture material which contains anumber of colony forming units of the cells which is sufficient toinoculate the animal and produce the desired effect.

The present invention is also directed to high moisture materials forenhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain or feedconversion efficiency of poultry. These high moisture materials containat least about 50% by weight water, at least about 10% by weightdigestible carbohydrate and, optionally, one or more additionalingredients selected from the group consisting of bile salts,surfactants, enzymes, enzyme co-factors, hormones, prostaglandins,peptides, immunoglobulins, cytokines, vaccines and otherimmunomodulators, antioxidants, amino acids, sources of amino acids andamino acid analogs, antibiotics, vitamins and minerals. The highmoisture material is preferably prepared in bulk, extruded and dividedinto dosage unit form at the site where the high moisture material isfed to the animal.

Other objects and features of the invention will be in part apparent andin part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph depicting the results of Example 12 identifying theestimated feed conversion for a 2 KG Broiler at 41 days.

FIG. 2 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 13 identifyingthe effect of formulation on day 7, 14, and 21 on the cumulativemortality in poults.

FIG. 3 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 14 identifyingthe twenty one day cumulative gain of birds fasted or given 1027, andvaccinated and challenged with coccidia.

FIG. 4 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 15 identifyingthe relative bursa weight (day 7) in birds given 1027 with or withoutimmunomodulators for the first two days of life.

FIG. 5 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 16 identifyingthe amount of IgA in the bile (day 21) of birds given 1027 with orwithout immunomodulators for the first two days of life.

FIG. 6 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 17 identifyingthe gain and cumulative feed to gain of birds given 1027 with or withoutvitamins A and E (1027 AE) and challenged with coccidia on day 15.

FIG. 7 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 18 identifyingthe feed to gain and cumulative liability of birds given 1027 with ourwithout Con A and Levamisole (1027CL) and challenged with coccidia onday 14.

FIG. 8 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 19 identifyingthe body weight and cumulative livability of birds given 1027 with orwithout killed bacteria (1027PS), vaccinated or not and challenged withcoccidia on day 14.

FIG. 9 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 20 identifyingthe consumption of colored and textured 1027 by hatchling turkeys.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Surprisingly, it has been discovered that the growth of poultry can bestimulated, the livability, cumulative weight gain and feed conversionefficiency of the poultry can be improved by feeding to poultry aformulation of the present invention which is referred to herein as ahigh moisture material. As used herein, the term high moisture materialmeans a colloid in which the dispersed phase (starch, gum or protein)has combined with the continuous phase (water) to produce a viscous,dough-like gel in which larger particles (e.g., particles greater than 5μm in size) such as soy, corn or rice may be suspended.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the high moisture materialis first fed to poultry hatchlings which are within five, four, three,two or even one day of hatching (as determined for each bird).Preferably, the high moisture material is fed to the hatchlings beforethey are offered dry food or allowed to drink water ad libitum, and morepreferably before they are offered dry food, at all. The high moisturematerial may be placed, for example, in the hatching incubator alongwith the eggs from which the poultry will hatch so that the highmoisture material is available to the hatchlings immediately uponhatching. Providing the high moisture material to the chicks prior totheir introduction to solid food reduces the likelihood that thehatchlings will suffer by consuming dry food without simultaneouslydrinking.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the high moisturematerial may be made available to the hatchlings prior to or duringshipping by placing the high moisture material in the chick boxes alongwith the chicks. In accordance with this embodiment, it is preferredthat the high moisture material be-placed in the chick boxes beforetransit begins so that the chicks will have the opportunity to consumethe high moisture material before they begin traveling (that is, movingby surface or air transportation from the site of the incubator to aremote location such as a poultry production farm which may be, forexample, one or more miles away from the location of the incubator). Theamount of high moisture material placed in the chick boxes need not besufficient to enable the chicks to feed on it for the entire transitperiod.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the high moisturematerial is fed to the poultry after they are shipped from the sitewhere they are hatched to a remote location such as a poultry productionfarm or other intermediate facility. After being shipped, some chicks donot readily begin eating dry food and drinking water when it is offered.For such applications, it may be desirable to feed the transportedpoultry the high moisture material until the poultry begin eating dryfood and drinking water ad libitum. In addition, the high moisturematerial may also be fed to the poultry at this time or even a latertime to administer drugs or other substances as described herein.

Typically, chick boxes are filled to capacity with hatchling chicks,leaving little additional room for the high moisture material of thepresent invention. As a practical matter, therefore, hatchling chickswhich are in the chick boxes along with the high moisture material willstand upon, brush against, peck at, and otherwise come into contact withthe high moisture material. Because hatchling chicks cannot regulatetheir body temperature sufficiently well to tolerate evaporativecooling, it is important that the hatchlings not be wetted by (or becomedamp from) the high moisture material under these conditions.Necessarily, therefore, the high moisture material should be resistantto syneresis under these conditions, that is, the high moisture materialshould not release an amount of water which is sufficient to wet thefloor of the container in which the hatchlings are being held or thehatchlings as a consequence of their standing upon it, brushing upagainst it, pecking at it, or otherwise coming into contact with it.

When the high moisture material is initially offered to the poultry orother animal, it should contain at least about 40% by weight water (anamount which is in excess of the amount of water contained in “dry”poultry feeds), preferably at least about 50% by weight water, morepreferably between about 50% and about 85% by weight water, and mostpreferably between about 60% and about 80% by weight water, based uponthe weight of the high moisture material. The non-aqueous fraction ofthe high moisture material is sometimes referred to herein as the “drymatter” or the “solid matter” fraction, with the two terms being usedinterchangeably.

Carbohydrates provide a source of nutrition for the animals and, inaddition, can aid in the formation of the solid. In general, digestiblecarbohydrates constitute at least about 8% by weight of the highmoisture material, preferably at least about 10% by weight of the highmoisture material and, for some applications, at least about 20% byweight of the high moisture material. The digestible carbohydratescontemplated herein include isolated carbohydrates such as corn starch,potato starch, wheat starch, rice starch, cellulose, pectin, agarose,and gums; bioavailable sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose;chemically modified starches such as modified corn starch,methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, and dextrin; humectants such asglycerol or propylene glycol; invert sugar; and ground complexcarbohydrates such as corn, rice, oats, barley, wheat, sorghum, rye,millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca, in whole, ground, cracked,milled, rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated, solventextracted or other processed form. When included, modified starchespreferably constitute at least about 0.01% by weight of the highmoisture material.

The high moisture material is formed from a mixture of water and acombination of ingredients which enables the formation of a highmoisture material from the mixture and which satisfies the nutrientspecifications, if any. Depending upon the ingredients selected,preparation of the high moisture material may additionally requireheating the mixture. In one embodiment, the mixture contains starch andis heated until the starch granules rupture and the mixture becomesviscous. See, for example, Lewis U.S. Pat. No. 2,593,577. In anotherembodiment, the high moisture material is formed from a colloidalsolution containing a gum dissolved in water; some gums enable theformation of high moisture materials from the colloidal solution withoutheating whereas others require that the solution be heated to atemperature in excess of about 180° F. Generally, gums can constituteabout 0.001% to about 5% by weight of the high moisture material. Gumswhich may be used for this purpose are generally high molecular weightmolecules of plant or animal origin, usually with colloidal properties,which in appropriate solvents are able to produce gels, such as agar,algin and carrageenan derived from seaweeds, plant exudates such as gumarabic, ghatti and tragacanth, plant extracts such as pectin, plantseeds such as guar, locust bean, and animal exudates such as plasma,serum albumin, egg albumin, chitin and gelatin. Other gums includeamylose and amylopectin and gums of bacterial origin. See, for example,U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,740. In yet another embodiment, a gelatinizing aidsuch as carboxymethylcellulose, lignin, or a lignin derivative isdissolved in water to form a colloidal solution which forms a gel uponcooling.

After the ingredients of the high moisture material are mixed and heated(if necessary), the material may be allowed to form a gel in situ,transferred to another vessel or container for storage in bulk form, orcast in a shape and size which enables convenient feeding to animals. Ina preferred embodiment, the mixture may be transferred to a containersuch as a drum or a deformable plastic which holds, for example, betweenabout 25 and about 1,000 kilograms of the high moisture material.

For administration to poultry hatchlings, the gelled high moisturematerial preferably has a texture which enables the hatchlings to breakthe high moisture material apart by pecking; that is, the high moisturematerial is sufficiently soft such that the pecking of the hatchlingswill cause the high moisture material to break or crumble intoconsumable fragments. Once broken into fragments, however, the highmoisture material preferably does not adhere to the feathers or down ofpoultry hatchlings. In addition, it is preferred that the high moisturematerial comprise particles which are visible to the naked eye. Suchparticles include, for example, ground ingredients such as ground grainsand seeds such as corn and soy beans, and other particles which do notexceed the size of a typical grain of white rice (i.e., about 1 mm).

Unless the high moisture material will be promptly fed to an animal, itis preferably stabilized against microbial growth. That is, upon beingsealed and stored at room temperature for a period of at least abouteight weeks the stabilized high moisture material will show noindication of microbial growth. The high moisture material may bestabilized, for example, by sterilizing, adding a microbial growthinhibitor such as methyl paraben or a sorbate thereto, or adjusting thepH of the mixture from which the high moisture material is formed.Preferably, the high moisture material is stabilized by adjusting the pHof the mixture with an acid to a pH within the range of about 3 to about4, more preferably to a pH within the range of about 3 to 3.5. Such acidcan be a low molecular weight carboxylic acid, preferably having a chainlength of C₂-C₁₀, more preferably having a chain length of C₂-C₇, mostpreferably having a chain length of C₂-C₅. Examples of useful carboxylicacids include citric acid, propionic acid, and fumaric acid. Phosphoricacid can also be used. Propionic acid can be present in an amount offrom about 0.5% to about 1% by weight of the present high moisturematerial; citric acid and fumaric acid can be present in an amount offrom about 0.7% to about 2% by weight of the high moisture material.

The high moisture material may be fed to the animals in a variety ofmanners. For example, the amount required for feeding may be scooped,sliced or otherwise removed from the unit, container or vessel in whichit is held and transferred to the animal(s) in unit form. To reducelabor, however, the unit doses of the solid may be generated from thebulk material by pumping or compressing the high moisture material andforcing it through an opening. The resulting material, referred toherein as an extrudate, is in the form of a high moisture materialcontaining substantially the same amount of water as the bulk material.In one embodiment, the high moisture material may be in a compressiblecontainer which is compressed to force the high moisture material toflow through a die and to a location where it can be consumed by theanimal(s). In some instances it may be preferred to combine the highmoisture material with a heat labile or other ingredient before the highmoisture material is fed to the animal(s); in these instances, the heatlabile ingredient is added to the high moisture material at or near roomtemperature and the total mixture is then remixed before being dividedinto unit doses. Alternatively, the heat labile material may be sprayedonto the unit dose of high moisture material. In any event, however, theextrusion step should not cause the high moisture material to lose asignificant amount of water or the desired texture. That is, theextrudate should preferably contain at least 40% by weight water,preferably at least about 50% by weight water, more preferably betweenabout 50% and about 85% by weight water, and most preferably betweenabout 60% and about 80% by weight water, based upon the weight of theextrudate and, in addition, the extrudate should be sufficiently softsuch that the pecking of the hatchlings will cause the high moisturematerial to break or crumble into consumable fragments.

The high moisture material of the present invention resists syneresiswhen it contains at least about 5% protein. To increase its nutritionalvalue for some applications such as longer-term feeding, the highmoisture material preferably comprises at least about 7% by weight, morepreferably at least about 10% by weight, of an amino acid source such asprotein(s), amino acids, precursors or analogues of amino acids, andmixtures thereof. In addition, it is preferred that the weight ratio ofall digestible carbohydrate to all amino acid sources in the highmoisture material be between about 0.6:1 and 3:1, respectively.Exemplary amino acids are essential amino acids such as methionine,tryptophan, threonine, arginine and lysine. Exemplary amino acidprecursors are 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid sold, for example,under the trademark Alimet® by Novus International (St. Louis, Mo.), andsalts of 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid such as the calcium andsodium salts. Exemplary proteins include single cell proteins orhydrolysates of proteins such as those from yeast, algae or bacteria;isolated animal proteins, peptides or hydrolysates of proteins such ashemoglobin, myosin, plasma, or other serum proteins, collagen, casein,albumin or keratin; complex protein sources or hydrolysates of proteinssuch as milk, blood, whey, blood meal, meatmeal, feathermeal, fishmeal,meat and bone meal, poultry offal, poultry by-product meal, hatcheryby-products, egg offal, egg white, egg yolk, and eggs without shells;plant protein or hydrolysate of proteins such as soybean meal, isolatedsoybean protein, wheat protein, wheat germ, distillers grains andgluten.

Although not preferred for certain applications, fat may also beincluded in the high moisture material in relatively small proportions.A suitable high moisture material, therefore, would comprise at leastabout 50% by weight water and no more than about 5% by weight fat,preferably no more than about 4% by weight fat. Suitable fats includefatty acids such as linoleic acid; isolated plant oils such assunflower, safflower, soybean, peanut, canola, corn, rapeseed, olive,linseed and palmkernal; fat meals such as cottonseed, peanut, rapeseed,palmmeal and nut meals; and fats of animal origin such as egg yolk,lard, butter, poultry fat, tallow and fishoil.

The various processes disclosed herein can employ different types ofhigh moisture materials depending upon the particular application. Thesehigh moisture materials can contain:

between about 50% and about 80% by weight water; at least about 10% byweight carbohydrate; and

a member selected from the group consisting of:

at least about 5% by weight protein,

at least about 7% by weight amino acids, amino acid precursors, aminoacid analogs, or a combination thereof,

a combination of at least about 5% by weight protein and at least about5% by weight amino acids, amino acid precursors, amino acid analogs, ora combination thereof,

a combination of at least about 10% by weight protein, amino acids,amino acid precursors, and amino acid analogs, and

at least about 10% by weight protein.

The ratio of carbohydrates to the various nitrogen-containing members inthese high moisture materials can be in the range between about 1:1 andabout 3:1.

When the high moisture material contains at least about 7% by weightamino acids, amino acid precursors, amino acid analogs, or a combinationthereof, or a combination of at least about 10% by weight protein, aminoacids, amino acid precursors, and amino acid analogs, the high moisturematerial can also contain a starch, a gum, or a combination thereof. Thestarch can be an unmodified starch or a combination of an unmodifiedstarch and a modified starch. When the starch is an unmodified starch,it can be present in an amount of at least about 10% by weight. When thestarch is a combination of an unmodified starch and a modified starch,the modified starch can be present in an amount of at least about 0.01%by weight. When a gum is employed, it can be present in an amount offrom about 0.001% to about 5% by weight.

To enable hatchlings to more effectively utilize any fats which may bepresent in the high moisture material or to enable the hatchlings tomore effectively utilize its yolk-based lipid and protein, the highmoisture material may contain bile salts, cholesterol, surfactants,emulsifying agents, micelles, or an enzyme such as lipase, amylase,maltase, pepsin, trypsin, or other enzyme which commonly occur in thegastrointestinal system, or an enzyme such as keratinase which is nottypically found in the gastrointestinal system but which has usefulactivities. The concentration of the digestion aid will depend upon theapplication but, in general, will be between about 0.01% and about 5% byweight of the dry matter.

The high moisture material may additionally contain vitamins andminerals. Vitamin additives may be selected, for example, from vitaminA, B12, biotin, choline, folacin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine,riboflavin, thiamin, C, D, 25-hydroxy D, E, and K. Mineral additives maybe selected, for example, from calcium, phosphorous, selenium, chlorine,magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese andchromium pincolinate. The concentration of the vitamins and mineralswill depend upon the application but, in general, will be between about0.01% and about 5% by weight of the dry matter.

Bacterial, yeast or mold preparations, commonly referred to asprobiotics or direct fed microbials, have been administered orally oradded to animal feeds to provide various benefits such as altering thegastrointestinal microflora/microbiota of poultry and other animals.Those microbial additives which have been approved for use areidentified in the annual Feed Additive Compendium published by TheMiller Publishing Company (Minnetonka, Minn.) in cooperation with TheAnimal Health Institute and the Direct-fed Microbial, Enzyme and ForageAdditive Compendium published by The Miller Publishing Company. Amongthe direct-fed microbials which have been approved are strains of thelactic acid bacteria, particularly those classified in the followinggenera: Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Enterococcus. Included amongthese are the following species: Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillusacidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus plantarum,Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus lactis, Lactococcus lactis,Lactococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus diacetylactis, and Enterococcusfaecium. In addition to these lactic acid bacteria, some species ofBacillus (such as Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus toyoi), some species ofStreptococcus (such as Streptococcus faecium), and yeasts and molds(such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus oryzae, and Torulopsissp.) have also been used as direct fed microbials.

The high moisture material of the present invention, therefore, may beused as a vehicle to administer direct-fed microbials to poultry andother animals. When used for this purpose, the high moisture materialshould contain sufficient colony forming units of the yeast or bacteriumto be of benefit to the animal. In general, the high moisture materialused as a direct fed microbial should contain at least about 10²,preferably about 10⁴, and more preferably about 10⁶ colony forming unitsof bacteria or at least about 10, preferably about 10², and morepreferably about 10⁴ colony forming units of yeast per gram ofcomposition. The yeast or bacterium may be incorporated into the highmoisture material prior to solidification or it may be deposited on orin the high moisture material after it has solidified. Although the highmoisture material may be fed at anytime to alter the gastrointestinalmicroflora/microbiota of or provide other benefits to the animal, it ispreferably fed to poultry as soon as possible after hatching toestablish the direct fed microorganism(s) as the dominant flora orculture in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby exclude potentialpathogens.

The high moisture material may additionally be used as a vehicle todeliver a variety of other substances to poultry and other animals. Forexample, the high moisture material may contain a peptide such asepidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor,granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, erythropoietin,bombesin, fibroblast growth factor, keratinocyte growth factor, nervegrowth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, bovine or othersomatotropin or insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I or IGF-II). The highmoisture material may also contain a steroid or polypeptide hormone suchas, estrogen, glucocorticoids, insulin, glucagon, gastrin, calcitonin orsomatotropin. The high moisture material may further contain anantibiotic approved for use in animal feed such as bacitracin, BMD(bacitracin methylenedisalicylate), lincomycin, or virginiamycin orother therapeutic drug. The high moisture material may also additionallycontain a natural or synthetic antioxidant such as ethoxyquin,tocopherol, BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), BHA (butylatedhydroxyanisole), vitamin C or glutathione; a receptor, transfer factor,chelator or complexing agent which modifies release rates of nutrientsor other bioactive compounds; an immunoactive agent such as cytokines,vaccines and other immunomodulators, immunoglobulins, antigens, killedcells, attenuated strains, toxins, or adjuvants; or a palatabilitymodifier or intake regulator such as food coloring, grit, oyster shell,whole seeds or grains. These substances can be used alone or incombination with one another. The concentration of these additives willdepend upon the application but, in general, will be between about0.0001% and about 10% by weight of the dry matter, more preferablybetween about 0.001% and about 7.5%, most preferably between about 0.01%and about 5%.

Food colorings useful in the present invention include, for example,red, green, blue, blue-green, black, and beige.

Substances useful as palatability modifiers or intake regulators inaddition to those mentioned above include triglycerides; fish productssuch as fishmeal and fish oils; spices such as sage, thyme, cloves,etc.; clonidine; gums and hydrolyzed gums such as guar gum, xanthan gum,algin, etc.; gastrin antagonists; cholecystokinin antagonists; aminoacids such as methionine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, etc.; naloxone;pancreatic polypeptide; norepinephrine; melatonin antagonists; thyroidhormones such as thyroxine, T3, T4, etc.; and pentobarbital.

Adjuvants that can be incorporated into the high moisture material canbe of several different types, e.g., microbiologically-derivedsubstances, viruses, lectins, polysaccharides, oils, peptides,polypeptides, and proteins, and various nucleic acids.Microbiologically-derived substances include materials produced by, orwhich are cellular components of, microorganisms such as bacteria, fungisuch as yeasts, etc. Prior to the present investigations, it was notknown that such substances could be used as orally effective adjuvantsin poultry to stimulate the immune system and/or to enhance theresistance of poultry to pathogens or other stresses, including exposureto heat or cold, dehydration, ammonia fumes in litter, transport, etc.Similarly, it was not previously known that such adjuvants, when orallyadministered, could positively affect the health, livability, weightgain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry.

Microbiologically-derived adjuvants comprise a variety of differenttypes of substances. For example, these can include lysates of bacteriasuch as Haemophilus sp., Diplococcus sp., Neisseria sp., etc.; trehalose6,6-diesters (cord factor) and synthetic analogues thereof; muramyldipeptide (N-acetyl-muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine) and syntheticanalogues thereof; L-seryl and L-valyl derivatives of muramyl dipeptide;killed bacteria and derivatives thereof such as Escherichia spp,Clostridia spp, Salmonella spp, Lactobacillus spp, Streptococcus spp,Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, Mycobacterium spp, Bordetella spp, Klebsiellaspp, Brucella spp, Propionibacterium spp such as Corynebacterium parvum,Pasteurella spp, Norcardia spp such as Norcardia rubra and derivativesthereof such as Norcardia water soluble mitogen; Staphylococcus cellwall products; bestatin; killed yeast such as Saccharomyces spp andCandida spp; yeast derivatives such as zymosan, glucan, and lentanin;endotoxins and enterotoxins such as Cholera toxin; cell wallpeptido-glycans; and bacterial ribonucleoproteins.Microbio-logically-derived adjuvants also include viruses, for exampleAvipoxviruses and Parapoxviruses.

Useful lectins include, for example, concanavalin A, pokeweed mitogen,and phytohemagglutinin. Useful polysaccharides include mannans such asacemannan, β-(1,4)-linked acetylated mannan, and mannan oligosaccharide;glucans; carrageenan and iota carrageenan; hemicelluloses; levans; agar;tapioca; dextrins; dextrans, for example dextran sulfate salts ofvarious molecular weights; and lipopolysaccharides.

Oil emulsions useful as adjuvants can be produced using mineral oil,peanut oil, and sesame oil, for example.

Useful peptides and macromolecules include cytokines such aslymphokines, interleukins, Transfer Factor, Macrophage ActivatingFactor, Migration Inhibitory Factor, and mitogenic factors forlymphocytes; nucleic acid digests; interferon and interferon inducerssuch as BRL 5907; double stranded complementary RNA homopolymers such aspoly I:C and poly A:U; immune RNA; thymic hormones such asthymostimulin, thymulin, thymosin, and thymopoietin; proteaseinhibitors; chemotactic factors for macrophages and other cells;tuftsin; and serum albumin (bovine, human, acetylated derivatives,beads, etc.).

Finally, a variety of other substances that can be employed as adjuvantsin the present invention include saponins such as QuilA and Iscoms;tiabenedezole; tylorone; statolon; maleic anhydride-divinyl ether; pyrancopolymers; amphotericin B; liposomes; silica; calcium phosphate;glycerol; betaine; protodyne; cyanidanol; imuthiol; picibanil;isoprinosine; lentinan; azimexon; lecithin; levamisole; vitamin A andother retinols; vitamin E and other tocopherols; antioxidants, such asethoxyquin; aluminum salts, such as sulfates and phosphates, includingalum (KAl(SO₄)₂.12H₂O); aluminum hydroxide; and aluminum oxide.

“Vaccines useful in the present invention include those effectiveagainst common diseases in poultry such as Newcastle's Disease, Marek'sDisease, infectious bursal disease, infectious bronchitis, enteritis,coccidiosis, etc. These vaccines include Newcastle's vaccine, Marek'sDisease vaccine, infectious bursal disease vaccine, infectiousbronchitis vaccine, and a coccidial vaccine sold under the trademarkCocciVac®, (Schering-Plough Animal Health, Union, N.J.), for example.When used in conjunction with the high moisture material of the presentinvention, these vaccines can be administered to young birds within 0 toabout 10 days of hatching orally, via yolk sac injection,subcutaneously, in ovo, or via inhalation by mist or spray.”

“A formulation satisfying the nutrient specifications of the highmoisture material of the present invention may be prepared, for example,from the following ingredient mix (based upon the weight of thenon-aqueous fraction of the high moisture material):

soybean meal 58%   dried egg white  8%   corn starch  4%   corn meal30%   88% 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)  0.5% butanoic acid (Alimet ®)propionic acid  0.5% citric acid to pH 3.5-4

High moisture materials containing these ingredients (and optionally oneor more of the other additives described herein) can be made by drymixing the ingredients, adding hot water (80° C.) and quickly mixing thewetted ingredients while maintaining the temperature above the starchgelation temperature for at least one minute. The mixture is thenstirred and pressed into a dish, cylinder, mold, or other vessel orcontainer.”

Although a high moisture material may be prepared from a poultry starterdiet formulation, such simple mixtures readily allow the escape of freewater which is potentially deleterious. Not only could the hatchlingchicks suffer from evaporative cooling as a result of being wetted bythe released moisture, they could suffer from consuming high moisturematerial which contains insufficient moisture. In addition, a loss ofmoisture could cause a substantial change in the texture of the highmoisture material, changing it from a material which the hatchlingchicks can break apart by pecking and consume to one which is hard or“leathery” and inaccessible to the birds. It is preferred, therefore,that the high moisture material have an initial moisture content of atleast about 40% by weight water and that the high moisture materialretain substantially all of its water under the conditions at which itis being provided to the chicks. More preferably, the high moisturematerial will retain at least 80% and most preferably at least about 90%of its water content when exposed to a temperature of 80° C. and arelative humidity of 70% for 24 hours. To improve the water-retentioncapability of the high moisture material, humectants, gums, proteins orother ingredients may be included in the formulation.

Similarly, the digestibility of ingredients could be improved withadditions to the formulation such as, but not limited to, enzymes, bilesalts or surfactants. Similarly, overall performance may be improvedwith the addition of selected micro ingredients, minerals,microorganisms, growth promotants, hormones, prostaglandins such as E₂or other factors which promote enhanced digestive enzyme activity,nutrient absorption or maturation of the gastrointestinal system as awhole.

In general, highly available protein sources might include hydrolyzedpoultry protein, hydrolyzed casein, or peptone. In contrast, lessavailable protein sources such as by-product meals or vegetable proteinsmight be fed in combination with factors such as proteases ormicroorganisms that secrete proteases to increase digestibility.Similarly, carbohydrates such as glucose may be chosen for highavailability, or more complex sources such as ground corn or potatostarch may be supplemented with enzymes or subjected to gelation toincrease their availability. Digestibility of saturated fats could beimproved through the addition of lipase, bile salts or surfactants.Thus, the formulation would include either highly available ingredientsor additives or handling methods which improve digestion of lessavailable ingredients in very young birds. The ingredients would beadministered in a semi-solid or solid form.

In addition, it has been demonstrated that the gastrointestinal systemof young birds is not able to use certain ingredients such as tallowwith the same efficiency as mature birds (Fredde et al., FactorsAffecting the Absorbability of Certain Dietary Fats in the Chick, J.Nutrition, Vol. 70, pp. 447-452 (1960); Gomez et al., The Use of BileSalts to Improve Absorption of Tallow in Chicks, One to Three Weeks ofAge, Poultry Science Vol. 55, pp. 2189-2195 (1976); Polin et al., TheEffect of Bile Acids and Lipase on Absorption of Tallow in Young Chicks,Poultry Science, Vol. 59, pp. 2738-2743 (1980); Sell et al., Influenceof Age on Utilization of Supplemental Fats by Young Turkeys, PoultryScience, Vol. 65, pp. 546-554 (1986)). Ontogenetic changes whichaccompany improved digestion include increased levels of pancreatic andintestinal enzymes (Krogdahl et al., Influence of Age on Lipase,Amylase, and Protease Activities in Pancreatic Tissue and IntestinalContents of Young Turkeys, Poultry Science, Vol. 68, pp. 1561-1568(1989); Sell et al., Intestinal Disaccharidases of Young Turkeys:Temporal Development and Influence of Diet Composition, Poultry Science,Vol. 68, pp. 265-277 (1989); Noy et al., Digestion and Absorption in theYoung Chick, Poultry Science, Vol. 74, pp. 366-373 (1995)), overall gutsurface area for absorption (Nitsan et al., Growth and Development ofthe Digestive Organs and Some Enzymes in Broiler Chicks After Hatching,British Poultry Science, Vol.32, pp.515-523 (1991); Nitsan et al., OrganGrowth and Digestive Enzyme Levels to Fifteen Days of Age in Lines ofChickens Differing in Body Weight, Poultry Science, Vol. 70, pp.2040-2048 (1991); Sell et al., Developmental Patterns of SelectedCharacteristics of the Gastrointestinal Tract of Young Turkeys, PoultryScience, Vol. 70, pp. 1200-1205 (1991)), and changes in nutrienttransporters (Shehata et al., Development of Brush-Border MembraneHexose Transport System in Chick Jejunum, Am. J. Physiol, Vol. 240, pp.G102-G108 (1981); Buddington et al., Ontogenetic Development ofIntestinal Nutrient Transporters, Annu. Rev. Physiol., Vol. 51, pp.601-619 (1989); Moreto et al., Transport of L-Proline andα-Methy-D-Glucoside by Chicken Proximal Cecum During Development, Am. J.Physiol, Vol. 260, pp. G457-G463 (1991)). The high moisture material ofthe present invention would minimize or exclude poorly used ingredientsand substitute more highly available ingredients as assessed bysubsequent bird performance.

The quantity of the high moisture material fed will be a function of theanimal species, age, environmental conditions such as temperature andhumidity and, in the case of poultry, the length of the preplacementperiod, i.e, the total time consumed in the post-hatch holding period,the processing period and in transit to the poultry production farm. Ingeneral, however, at least about 5 grams of high moisture material perchick per day should be provided to 0 to 2 day old chicks, about 10grams of high moisture material per chick per day should be provided to2 to 3 day old chicks, and up to about 20 grams of high moisturematerial per chick per day should be provided to 4 to 7 day old chicks.

As previously noted, chicks conventionally are placed with poultryproduction farms within about 2 days of hatching. This practice hasdeveloped, in part, out of the fact that hatchers typically do notprovide food or water to the hatchlings and the fact that the hatchlingsmust receive water and a source of nutrition by about 3 days or elsethey suffer. Because the composition of the high moisture materials ofthe present invention can be controlled to meet the changing nutritionalrequirements of the hatchlings as they mature, it may become practicalfor hatchers to delay sending chicks to poultry production farms for alonger period of time or to ship chicks a greater distance withoutexperiencing many of the difficulties associated with providing waterand nutrition to the chicks. Thus, for example, hatchers couldconveniently feed the high moisture material of the present invention tothe chicks for a period of about 3 to about 7 days from hatching beforeshipping them on to the poultry production farms. Alternatively, thechicks could be shipped from the hatcher to an intermediate facilitywhere they could be fed the high moisture material for a period of about7 days and then shipped to the standard poultry production farm. Eitherapproach would allow the poultry production farms to more efficientlyutilize their houses without burdening the hatchers with feeding thehatchlings water and dry food.

The following examples will illustrate the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

The performance of 1 to 4 day old birds, i.e., birds which were no lessthan 1 day old and no more than 4 days old at the start of the test asmeasured from hatching for each bird, fed high moisture solidsconsisting of agar (1.5% agar and 98.5% by weight water) or agar and eggyolk (1.5% agar, 10% egg yolk and 88.5% by weight water) were comparedto fasted and water deprived birds. The results are presented inTable 1. Birds initially lost weight on all feeding regimes and agaralone gave no benefit in either cumulative gain or cumulativefeed-to-gain ratio (“FTG”). Agar plus yolk showed an effect oncumulative gain on days 6 and 13, but cumulative feed-to-gain ratio(sometimes referred to herein as cumulative feed efficiency) was poorerthan for fasted birds. The data also suggest that hydration alone (agartreatment) with or without yolk conferred no cumulative feed efficiencybenefit in this study. Cumulative livability was improved by feedingeither water-containing formulation.

TABLE 1 Growth of Birds Fed Nothing or Formulations Consisting of Agar(1.5%) with and without Egg Yolk (10%) Cumul. Cumul. Cumul. Cumul.Cumul. Cumulative Cumulative Gain Gain FTG Gain FTG Feed IntakeLivability Trt Day 3 Day 6 Day 6 Day 13 Day 13 Day 13 Day 13 Fasted 24 h−8.0 35.8 g 1.66 195.5 g 1.40 274 g  94% Agar −7.2 32.8 g 1.95 193.7 g1.41 273 g 100% Agar & Yolk −7.8 37.5 g 1.70 197.4 g 1.43 282 g 100%

EXAMPLE 2

In this example, groups of one to four day old birds were fed for 24 or48 hours a high moisture solid consisting of starter feed and water.Pens were given enough high moisture solid for each bird to consume 10g. The feed was present at either 25, 50 or 100% of the high moisturesolid. From Table 2 it appears that the high moisture solid containing25% dry matter gave the best cumulative gain after feeding either 24 or48 hr. It should be noted, however, that all high moisture solids showedcumulative gain superior to the fasted controls. When cumulative feedefficiency, was corrected for differences in body weight (BW FTG), the25% dry matter high moisture solid again was superior to the otherswhether fed for 24 or 48 hr. Cumulative feed intake subsequent to the 48hr treatment period was higher when birds were given high moisturesolids than when they were fasted. This was the case for formulationscontaining 25, 50 or 100% dry matter. Cumulative livability data suggestthat the high moisture solids containing a greater percentage of drymatter are associated with lower livability than the fasted control or25% dry matter formulations.

TABLE 2 Growth of Birds Fed Starter Feed and Moisture Combinations BWCumul. Cumul.F Cumul. Cumul. Cumulative Gain TG FTG intake LivabilityTreatment Day 13 Day 13 Day 13 Day 13 Day 13 Fasted 24 h 280.9 g 1.3161.292 369.8 g 100% Formulation 24 303.5 g 1.319 1.285 400.3 g 100% h DryMatter 25% Formation 24 269.0 g 1.342 1.323 360.8 g 100% h Dry Matter50% Formation 24 286.7 g 1.312 1.285 375.8 g  94% h Dry Matter 100%Fasted 48 h 222.8 g 1.371 1.372 304.6 g  96% Formation 48 h 284.6 g1.274 1.248 362.5 g 100% Dry Matter 25% Formation 48 h 267.0 g 1.3531.335 360.4 g  83% Dry Matter 50% Formation 48 h 237.9 g 1.394 1.389328.4 g  83% Dry Matter 100%

EXAMPLE 3

“In this example, groups of one to four day old birds were given 20 geach of a high moisture solid consisting of gelatin and Alimet® (88%2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid) base with additions of eithercorn starch or corn starch and lysine. The dry matter content of thehigh moisture solid was about 5% and the amount of each of the drymatter constituents, based upon the weight of the high moisture solidfor each formulation, was as indicated in Table 3. The formulationcontaining corn starch, gelatin and 88% 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthiobutanoicacid, sold under the trademark Alimet®, showed cumulative gain andlivability superior to the fasted control and the other twoformulations. Treatments 2 and 3 also showed superior cumulative feedintake when compared with the fasted control, but the formulationstended to liquify at the brooding temperature would could cause problemsin brooding and transit boxes.”

Growth of Birds Fed Formulations Containing Starch, Gelatin, Alimet ®¹and Lysine Combinations Cumul Cumul Cumul Cumulative Corn Gain FTGIntake Livability Trt Starch Gelatin Alimet ®¹ Lysine Day 14 Day 14 Day14 Day 14 Fasted 24 hr 297.8 g 1.22 358 g  95% 1 0 g 2.5% .13% 0 290.8 g1.32 340 g  80% 2 2.5% 2.5% .13% 0 317.7 g 1.23 392 g 100% 3 2.5% 2.5%.13% .13% 289.1 g 1.34 360 g  80% ¹88% 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoicacid

EXAMPLE 4

“Groups of one to four day old birds were fed formulations containingsources of fats and protein administered with and without added lipaseto assist in the digestion of the fat. All formulations contained cornstarch, 88% 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, sold under thetrademark Alimet®, lysine and the bile salt, chenodeoxycholic acid. Inone case, protein and fat were provided together in the form of yolksolids. In the second case, poultry protein and soy oil were used toprovide the protein and fat. The dry matter content of the high moisturesolid was about 25% and the amount of each of the dry matterconstituents, based upon the weight of the high moisture solid for eachformulation, was as indicated in Table 4. Table 4 indicates that theimproved cumulative gains and cumulative feed efficiencies were observedin all formulation treatments. Lipase did not appear to be enhance theavailability of these complex fat sources. Superior early cumulativefeed intake was achieved with yolk solids in the absence of additionallipase. It should be noted that yolk was also used in Example 1, butbird response was not evident in the absence of a source ofcarbohydrates, bile salts, a methionine source and added lysine.”

Growth of Birds Fed Formulations Containing Sources of Protein and Fat,with and without Lipase (Corn starch: 2.5%, Alimet ®¹: .05%, Lysine.05%, Chenodeoxycholic acid: .02%) Cumul. Cumul. Cumulative Gain FTGintake Livability Trt Addition Fat Protein Day 12 Day 12 Day 12 Day 12Fasted 253.6 g 1.30 329.2 g 100% 1 Egg Yolk (11%) 7.7% 3.3% 284.4 g 1.22345.6 g 100% 2 Lipase (2%) Egg Yolk (11%) 7.7% 3.3% 254.0 g 1.24 312.2 g100% 3 Soy Oil (10%)  10% 7.5% 264.3 g 1.25 331.2 g  95% Poultry Protein(10%) 4 Lipase (2%)  10% 7.5% 257.9 g 1.26 312.4 g 100% Soy Oil (10%)Poultry Protein (10%) ¹88% 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid

EXAMPLE 5

Groups of one to four day old birds fed agar (1.5% agar and 98.5% water)and agar plus a direct fed microbial (1.5% agar, 88.5% water, 10%Biomate direct fed microbial including the microbial carrier) werecompared to a fasted control. The direct fed microbial (“DFM”) consistedof two species of Lactobacilli and two species of Bacilli. The directfed microbial contained 2.2×10⁸ colony forming units per gram ofmaterial for each of the Lactobacilli species and 5.5×10⁸ colony formingunits per gram of material for each of the Bacilli species with each penof 8 birds receiving 1 gram of product. Although the cumulative feedefficiency of this treatment was poorer than that of agar alone,cumulative gain appeared to increase in the presence of water and theDFM. The DFM, therefore, provided some benefit on its own and tooptimize this effect more nutrients should be added to the high moisturesolid.

TABLE 5 Growth of Birds Fed Agar (1.5%) and Agar Containing a Direct FedMicrobial Consisting of Lactobacillus acidophilus and lactis, andBacillus subtilis and licheniformis (10%) Cumulative CumulativeCumulative Cumulative Gain Feed to Gain Feed Intake Livability TreatmentDay 21 Day 21 Day 21 Day 21 Fasted 24 h 710.3 g 1.388 985.8 g 98% Agar(1.5%) 720.5 g 1.386 998.0 g 98% Agar (1.5%) 724.2 g 1.387 1004.4 g  98%DFM (10%)

EXAMPLE 6

This example shows the response of one to four day old hatchlings tocasein, enzyme hydrolyzed casein and casein administered with a sourceof proteolytic activity. The high moisture solid contained 85% waterwith a balance of constituents as indicated in Table 6. In treatment 3,0.6% pepsin (based upon the weight of the high moisture solid) was addedto the formulation and in treatment 4, a microbe which secretes aproteolytic enzyme was added. All formulation treatments showed superiorcumulative gain, cumulative feed efficiency and livability when comparedto the fasted control.

TABLE 6 Growth of Birds Fed Formulations with Casein, Hydrolyzed Casein,Casein with Pepsin or Casein with B. licheniformis (2 × 10⁶/bird)(Ground corn: 10%, Agar: .25%, Alimet ®¹: .125%, Lysine: .04) Cumula-Cumul- ative Cumul- ative Cumulative Feed ative Gain Feed to Gain IntakeLivability Trt Casein Day 12 Day 12 Day 12 Day 12 Fasted 207.2 g 1.34303.4 g 79% 24 h 1 Casein (10%) 249.3 g 1.21 301.7 g 92% 2 Hydrolyzed234.8 g 1.19 280.1 g 96% Casein (10%) 3 Casein (10%) 234.8 g 1.26 293.7g 91% Pepsin (.6%) 4 Casein (10%) 248.8 g 1.19 296.0 g 91% B.licheniformis ¹88% 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid

EXAMPLE 7

In this example, zero to two day old birds were fed formulationsconsisting of 10% dry matter in the form of corn starch (2.5%), protein(5%), and glucose (2.5%), based upon the weight of the high moisturesolid. Birds were treated for 24, 48 or 72 hours, to test thepossibility of treating birds over the total preplacement period ofapproximately 2 days in the hatching incubator and I day in transit. Allformulation treated birds showed cumulative gain superior to birdsfasted for an equivalent period. In addition, the birds treated withformulation for 24 and 48 hours also showed superior cumulative feedefficiencies. The response appeared to decline at the 72 hour timepoint. It appears from these data that 10% dry matter is sufficient toimprove performance of young birds over a 2 day period, but that ahigher concentration of nutrients may be required by the third day. Itshould be noted that for each time period, livability of formulation fedbirds was superior to fasted controls.

TABLE 7 Growth of Birds Fed Hatchery Formulations Consisting of CornStarch (2.5%), Porcine Plasma (5%), Agar (.5%), Alimet ®¹ (.125%),Lysine (.125%), Glucose 2.5%; Total 10% Dry Matter) Cumula- CumulativeCumulative Cumulative tive Gain Feed to Gain Feed Intake LivabilityTreatment Day 16 Day 16 Day 16 Day 16 Fasted 24 h 405.4 g 1.431 580.1 g93% Formulation 24 h 435.6 g 1.422 619.4 g 96% Fasted 48 h 369.3 g 1.425526.3 g 95% Formulation 48 h 391.7 g 1.413 553.5 g 100%  Fasted 72 h331.1 g 1.430 473.5 g 91% Formulation 72 h 348.6 g 1.456 507.6 g 93%¹88% 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid

EXAMPLE 8

In this example, the growth of chicks fed nothing, formulationssolidified with dehydrated egg white, whole egg or guar/xanthan gums, ora simple gruel of rice and corn was compared. Table 8 shows early birdperformance as influenced by formulations solidified in various ways.

Treatment 1 was the fasted control. The formulation in treatments 2 and3 consisted of corn meal (15%), corn starch (2%), soybean meal (12%) andeither dehydrated egg white (3.6%) or whole egg (20%). Treatment 4 hadslightly more soybean meal (16%) to compensate for the loss of the eggprotein and was solidified with a combination of guar (0.35%) andxanthan (0.05%) gums. Treatment 5 was a simple gruel of rice (22.5%) andcorn (22.5%). All formulations contained fumaric (1%) and propionic(0.5%) and a vitamin (0.1%) and mineral (0.05%) premix.

One to four day old birds were weighed (Table 8, body weight day 0) andtreated with 10 gm/bird of a high moisture solid or fasted for 24 hours.The birds receiving high moisture solid received one of four highmoisture solids designated in Table 8. Birds were then weighed again(body weight day 1) and all were offered water and starter feed for adlibitum consumption. As can be seen in Table 8, fasted birds initiallylost weight while formulation treated birds either maintained or evengained weight. Day 6 performance, however, indicated that the higherprotein formulations (2-4) were more beneficial than the simple rice andcorn mixture. Both body weights and 7 feed efficiencies of birds intreatments 2-4 were superior to those of treatment 5. All birds showedan improvement in early livability compared to fasted controls.

TABLE 8 Growth of Birds Fed Nothing or Formulations Solidified withDehydrated Egg White, Whole Egg or Guar/Xanthan Gums, in Comparison to aSimple Gruel of Rice and Corn. Body Body Body Feed to Treatment WeightWeight Weight Gain Livability Trt Description Day 0 Day 1 Day 6 Day 6Day 6 1 Fasted Control 43.5 41.8 140.9 1.305 69% 2 Dehydrated Egg 43.444.8 154.9 1.121 98% White 3 Whole Egg 43.6 45.8 156.1 1.175 98% 4 Guarand Xanthan 43.1 43.4 155.6 1.167 98% Gum 5 Rice and Ground 43.9 45.1147.6 1.200 100%  Corn

EXAMPLE 9

In this example, the water retention characteristics of the variousformulations described in Example 8 was compared to that in a simpleground corn and rice gruel. After 24 hours, formulations in which egg orgums were added to bind the water held more moisture than did the simplehot water slurry of rice and ground corn. When these were fed to one tofour day old chicks, birds eating the rice and ground corn gruel werenoted to be damp, although no measurable water escaped from any of themixtures. The results are presented in Table 9.

TABLE 9 Water Retention (%) in Formulations after 24 hours at 80, 90 or100 C. and 40% Humidity Water Remaining in Formulation After 24 Hours 80C. 90 C. 100 C. Formulation % g/kg % g/kg % g/kg Dehydrated Egg White26.5 175 15.5 102 16.5 109 Whole Egg 26.0 172 22.5 149 15.5 102 GuarXanthan Gum 24.0 166 22.5 156 17.0 118 Rice and Ground Corn 14.5 80 2.815 0 0

EXAMPLE 9a

Table 9a shows water loss by high moisture solids kept at 80° C. and 70%humidity. Formulations 1-4 contained guar and xanthan gums (0.6-1%),20-22% soybean meal and about 16% corn meal, with the balance as water.Humectant levels ranged from 1 g (modified corn starch) to 50 g(propylene glycol and glycerol). Formulations 5 and 6 were included asexamples of simple formulations which did not include a humectant.Formulation 5 consisted of 21% soybean meal, 11% oats and 8.5% rice,with the balance as water. Prior to the experiment shown in Table 9a,all formulations were kept at room temperature overnight to allow themixtures to absorb the water. In the absence of a humectant, a gum basedgel lost 19% of its water in 24 hours and 34% after 48 hours. Highmoisture solids containing the humectants propylene glycol and glycerollost 0-10% of their water in 24 hours and 4-17% after 48 hours. Themodified corn starch did not perform as well under these conditions asdid the other humectants. Simple mixtures of grain and rice retained theleast water under these conditions, losing 24% water over the first 24hours and 47-53% of their water by 48 hours.

TABLE 9a Water Retention (80 C., 70% Humidity) at 24 and 48 hour by HighMoisture Solids Containing Gums or Humectants in Comparison to SimpleMixtures of Grains, Soybean Meal and Rice Formulation Loss at Loss at 48h Trt Contents Other 24 h (%) (%) 1 Soybean Meal, Corn 19% 33% Meal &Gum 2 Soybean Meal, Corn Modified Corn 20% 42% Meal & Gum Starch 3Soybean Meal, Corn Propylene Glycol 0% 4% Meal & Gum 4 Soybean Meal,Corn Glycerol 10% 17% Meal & Gum 5 Soybean Meal, Rice & None 24% 47%Oats 6 Ground Corn & Rice None 24% 53%

EXAMPLE 10

In this example, samples from formulations containing soybean meal(12%), corn meal (17%) and either whole egg (20%) or guar/xanthan gum(4%) stabilized with fumaric (1%) and propionic (0.5%) acids werecompared to a simple corn (23%) and rice (23%) mixture for microbialgrowth. All mixtures were stored sealed (except for sampling) at roomtemperature. Plates were incubated for 3 days at 37° C. in a saturatedatmosphere. MacConkey agar was included to evaluate the growth of Gramnegative organisms such as E. Coli. From Table 10 it is clear that therice and corn mixture was not stable and supported high levels ofmicrobial growth when stored at room temperature in a sealed bag. Theheating procedure does not destroy bacillus spores, and these would bethe source of the colonies seen in the blood agar at day 1 and 2 in theformulation containing guar and xanthan gums. It is clear, however, thatbacilli were not multiplying in the formulation itself, because numbersdid not increase with time. The organisms present in the rice and corngruel included Gram negative rods, Gram positive cocci and yeast.

The formulation made with soybean meal (11%), corn meal (15%), cornstarch (2%), dehydrated egg white (6%) and stabilized with citric (1%)and propionic (0.5%) acids was also tested for stability to microbialgrowth. Samples were stored for 9 weeks without showing any indicationof microbial growth when tested on blood agar and MacConkey agar. Therewas no mold growth evident on the samples and no indication ofseparation of water from the high moisture solid over this period oftime.

TABLE 10 Microbial Growth of a 1:1000 Dilution of Formulation Number ofColonies in 0.1 ml of a 1:1000 Dilution Guar & Rice & Whole Egg XanthanGums Corn Gruel Blood Mac- Blood Blood Mac- Day Agar Conkey AgarMacConkey Agar Conkey Day 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 Day 3 0 0 2 0 1067 53 Day 5 0 00 0 1000 0 Day 9 0 0 0 0 1100 90

EXAMPLE 11

This example shows the proximate analysis of several high moisturesolids in comparison to mixtures of rice and various grains with as muchwater as the combination will hold (excess water poured off). Values forcarbohydrates are obtained by difference. Performance studies using livebirds have indicated that the optimum protein level in a high moisturesolid fed to day old birds is 10-11%. Using dry matter levels of 33%,feeding a level of 10% protein and 20% carbohydrate in a high moisturesolid resulted better day 6 gain and feed conversion results (Example 8)than did a rice and corn mixture containing 4% protein and 35%carbohydrate. A protein level of 10% is not possible using a mixturebased on a whole grain and rice or whole grain alone, even with 100% drymatter. Even if the grain were relatively high in protein, such as wheat(maximum 15%), protein levels higher than 7-8% would not be possible ina mixture containing 50% water. With a mixture of wheat and water, aprotein level of 10.5% would require 70% dry matter. The results arepresented in Table 11.

EXAMPLE 12

The objective of this experiment was to determine the optimum ratio offat, protein, and carbohydrate in a formulation with a 25% solidscomposition. An experimental design was generated to meet the statedobjective and it was implemented as a 96 pen, 41 day study. In thisstudy, 1-4 day old chicks were fed the formulation or were fasted for 48hours. The results are present in FIG. 1. The performance parameterillustrated in FIG. 1 is the estimated feed conversion for a 2 kgbroiler at 41 days. A response surface model was made for feedconversion corrected to a constant live weight. It was found that fathad a large negative impact on performance. The birds treated withgreater than 5% fat showed losses in live weight and increased feedconversion. The best performance for this 25% dry matter formulationoccurred with the protein and carbohydrate treatments where the birdsexhibited body weight corrected feed conversions of 1.72-1.73. Mortalitywas lowest at 21 days for treatments with higher levels of protein, andhighest with treatments that contained significant amounts of fat. Datafrom this experiment indicate that the optimum digestible carbohydratelevel is above 8%.

EXAMPLE 13

Early mortality in turkey poults is a particular problem in thisindustry. It is ascribed to a number of factors, including failure ofthe birds to ingest feed and water ad libitum due to an excessively longtime between hatch and placement. In this experiment, groups of one tofour day old turkey poults were fed a 33% dry matter formulationcontaining less than 1% fat, 9-10% protein, and 22-23% carbohydrates, orwere fasted and deprived of water for either 24 or 48 hours. On apercent dry matter basis, the formulation contained 44% corn meal, 6%corn starch, 36% soybean meal, 11% dehydrated egg white, 2% fumaricacid, and 1.5% propionic acid. As a percentage of the total formulation,this equated to 15% corn meal, 2% corn starch, 12% soybean meal, 3.6%dehydrated egg white, 0.7% fumaric acid, and 0.5% propionic acid.Afterwards, the birds were given a conventional feed formulation. Asshown in FIG. 2, the performance of birds on this regime showeddifferences in 7, 14, and 21 day cumulative mortalities: birds fastedfor 24 hours showed mortalities greater than those given formulation for24 hours. This was further accentuated when birds were fasted or givenformulation for 48 hours. In the group fasted for 48 hours, earlymortality reached almost 20% by day 21, whereas birds given formulationover the same time period showed the least cumulative 21 day mortalityin the study, i.e., less than 10%.

EXAMPLE 14

“This experiment was performed to test the effect of feeding highmoisture material of the present invention to newborn hatchlings beforethey are offered dry food ad libitum containing approximately 77% water,1% fat, 11% carbohydrate, and 11% protein, on resistance of chickens toa disease challenge with or without previous vaccination to thepathogen. (The same basic composition was also used in the exampleswhich follow). The term “disease challenge” refers to contact of poultrywith a pathogen, causing a negative effect on a performance parametersuch as health, livability, weight gain, or feed conversion efficiency.Treatments 1-4 received no feed or water, while the high moisturematerial (designated “1027” in FIG. 3) was the sole source of nutritionand hydration for the first two days of the experiment for treatments5-8. An oral immunizing dose of a coccidial vaccine, (sold under thetrademark CocciVac®, (Schering-Plough Animal Health, Union. N.J.) wasgiven to birds in treatments 2, 4, 6, and 8 on day 0. Birds intreatments 1, 3, 5, and 7 received orally an equal volume of saline atthat time. All birds were fed the same feed and water ad libitumsubsequent to day 2 after hatching. At day 14, birds in treatments 3, 4,7, and 8 were administered a very high dose of coccidia (100×/100 g BWof the coccidial vaccine sold under the trademark CocciVac®), enough toaffect the performance of both naive and immunized birds.”

FIG. 3 shows the cumulative gain of these birds at day 21. Compared tofasting, feeding the present high moisture material was associated withsignificantly higher gain in the non-vaccinated, non-challenged birds(treatment 1 vs. treatment 5), the vaccinated, non-challenged birds(treatment 2 vs. treatment 6), the non-vaccinated, challenged birds(treatment 3 vs. treatment 7), and the vaccinated, challenged birds(treatment 4 vs. treatment 8). Thus, feeding the high moisture materialnot only improved the ability of the non-vaccinated birds to resist thedisease challenge, but also resulted in a superior performance of thevaccinated, challenged birds (treatment 8) when compared to their fastedcontrols (treatment 4).

These data demonstrate that feeding the high moisture solid to hatchlingbirds improved the general performance of the birds and their ability torespond to a disease challenge as exemplified by the performance of eachof the groups receiving the high moisture material compared to itsfasted control.

EXAMPLE 15

“This example shows the results of an experiment in which chickens werefed high moisture material as the sole source of nutrition and hydrationfor the first two days of the experiment. During these two days, thebirds were also variously administered adjuvants consisting of (as apercent of dry matter) muramyl dipeptide (0.015%), mannan (0.06%),killed yeast cells (0.15%), killed bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes;0.03%), saponin (0.3%), levamisole (0.005%), and vitamins A (0.0001%)and E (1.5%), or saline (0.01%). All birds were given a common dietfollowing this initial two day treatment period, and were orallyvaccinated with a coccidial vaccines sold under the tradmark CocciVac®,on day 0 following the manufacturer's instructions.”

The data in FIG. 4 show the effect of the various adjuvants on bursaweight as a percent of body weight on day 7. Clearly, several of theadjuvants were associated with a heavier relative bursa weight than inbirds fed the high moisture material (designated 1027) alone. Sinceheavier relative bursa weight is associated with disease resistance,these data suggest that the addition of an adjuvant to the high moisturematerial, in association with vaccination, may improve the ability ofbirds to resist pathogen and other stress.

EXAMPLE 16

This example demonstrates the effect of the same adjuvants, in the sameamounts, used in Example 15 on the amount of IgA in the bile ofchickens, 21 days after vaccine and adjuvants were orally administered.IgA is the antibody class associated with resistance to diseases whichattack the intestinal mucosa, such as coccidiosis.

The data presented in FIG. 5 were obtained by indirect enzyme linkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA) using monoclonal mouse anti-chicken IgA asthe first antibody, polyclonal goat anti-chicken IgA as the secondantibody, and biotin-conjugated anti-goat immunoglobulin for detection.Samples were read on an automated ELISA plate reader, and are correctedfor differences in dilution. The data demonstrate that the adjuvantscontained in the high moisture material (1027) were active whenadministered orally, and stimulated the mucosal immune systemspecifically and differentially. Some, for example treatment 5 (killedPropionibacterium acnes), resulted in significantly higher biliary IgAcontent 21 days after administration of the high moisture material withthe adjuvant and vaccine.

These results suggest that the high moisture material of the presentinvention can be used for oral delivery of adjuvants effective instimulating the mucosal immune system in poultry. This can result instimulation of the production of antibodies specific to, or associatedwith, the mucosal immune system, including the gut, respiratory system,genital-urinary system, reproductive system, and lacrimal system. Thiscan also include stimulation of lymphocytes or cytokines characteristicof cell-mediated immunity.

EXAMPLE 17

“A series of experiments was performed in chicken hatchlings in whichthe high moisture material (designated “1027” in FIG. 6) wasadministered with or without an adjuvant for two days after hatching,following which half of the birds were challenged with an oral dose ofcoccidial oocysts by administering a coccidial vaccine sold under thetrademark CocciVac®, at 100 times the vaccinating dose two weeks later.Unchallenged birds given either the high moisture material (1027) orhigh moisture material containing vitamin A (0.015% of dry matter) andvitamin E (0.27% of dry matter) (1027AE) were used as controls.”

The data in FIG. 6 present the results of this study, designed toevaluate the effects of vitamins A and E as adjuvants when given in thehigh moisture material over a two day period after hatching. Gain andfeed efficiencies of unchallenged controls were the same 21 days aftereither 1027 or 1027AE treatment (the first two groups of bars).Performance of birds given coccidial challenge at day 15 is comparedwith that of control birds. It is clear that the challenge affected bothgain and feed efficiency. However, the gain of the birds given 1027 andthen challenged with coccidia is less than that in birds given 1027AEand challenged with coccidia. In addition, the feed conversion is poorerfor the birds given plain 1027 than those treated with 1027 plusadjuvant and subsequently challenged. It appears that the presence ofvitamins A and E in the high moisture material resulted in birds betterable to withstand an oral immune stress (coccidial challenge) two weekslater.

EXAMPLE 18

Another example of the effects of an adjuvant is shown in FIG. 7. Inthis experiment, the performance of birds fed the high moisture materialcontaining the adjuvants Concanavalin A (0.001% of dry matter) andlevamisole (0.0005% of dry matter) (designated 1027CL) was compared withthat of birds fed the high moisture material alone (1027). ConcanavalinA and levamisole are thought to be specifically stimulatory forT-lymphocytes. As shown in Example 16, levamisole resulted in higher day21 biliary IgA levels when given individually. In this experiment,chicken hatchlings were challenged with a coccidial stress on day 14after administration of the high moisture material. Unchallenged birdsgiven the high moisture material alone (1027) or high moisture materialcontaining Concanavalin A and levamisole (1027CL) served as controls.

The data in FIG. 7 show that the presence of the adjuvants in the highmoisture material (1027CL) administered on days 0 and 1 was associatedwith a significantly higher cumulative livability following coccidialchallenge and a numerically superior feed to gain ratio during the 7 dayperiod immediately following challenge than in birds fed the highmoisture material (1027) alone. The two treatments resulted in nodifferences between the unchallenged control groups. As in previousExample 17, the birds which exhibited a benefit from Concanavlin A andlevamisole were not previously exposed to a coccidial vaccine, but werenaive at challenge on day 14.

EXAMPLE 19

In this experiment, chicken hatchlings were given killed bacterial cellsof Propionibacterium spp (0.06% of dry matter) and Salmonella spp (0.06%of dry matter). As shown in Examples 15 and 16, an oral dose of killedPropionibacterium in birds vaccinated for coccidiosis results in bothhigher relative bursal weight and biliary IgA levels than in birds giventhe high moisture material alone. Similar results were observed withkilled Salmonella (data not shown).

“In this example, killed cells of both bacteria were administered inhigh moisture material on days 0 and 1 of the study. In addition, halfof the birds were given an immunizing dose of coccidial oocysts byadministering a coccidial vaccine sold under the name CocciVac® on days0 and 1, and a boost dose was given on day 7 (vaccinated). Vaccinationin the presence of the adjuvants was associated with poorer day 14performance, presumably due to the strong immune response, and the datawere covaried for 14 day body weight in FIG. 5. All birds werechallenged with coccidia on day 14.”

The data shown in FIG. 8 indicate that the presence of the adjuvants wasassociated with improved body weight following challenge in both controland vaccinated birds. In the case of birds vaccinated before challenge,the presence of the adjuvant resulted in significantly higher bodyweights following challenge, indicating an improved response to thevaccine when administered in association with the oral adjuvant given inthe 1027 high moisture material. Livability was not affected by any ofthe treatments in this experiment.

EXAMPLE 20

This example demonstrates the effect of texture and color on theingestion of the high moisture material by hatchling turkeys. Thetexture agent used was millet. Turkey poults were offered colored andtextured high moisture material for a period of approximately 12 hours.

As shown in FIG. 9, both the appearance and texture of the high moisturematerial influences ingestion by the birds.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved.

As various changes could be made in the above compositions and processeswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. An oral composition for poultry comprising, as anactive ingredient, killed Propionibacterium spp. bacteria and acoccidial vaccine, wherein the coccidial vaccine is selected from thegroup consisting of coccidia and coccidial oocysts.
 2. The oralcomposition of claim 1, wherein said Propionibacterium spp bacteriaconsist essentially of killed Propionibacterium spp.
 3. The oralcomposition of claim 1, wherein the oral composition is an extrudate. 4.The oral composition of claim 1, wherein said Propionibacterium spp. isPropionibacterium acnes.
 5. The composition of claim 1 furthercomprising an additive selected from the group consisting of probiotics,vitamins, minerals, and combinations thereof.
 6. The composition ofclaim 1 further comprising at least 20% by weight water, at least 8% byweight carbohydrate, at least 5% by weight of an amino acid source. 7.The composition of claim 6 wherein the oral composition contains no morethan about 5% by weight fat.
 8. The composition of claim 6, wherein theoral composition is an extrudate.
 9. The oral composition of claim 6,wherein the oral composition contains at least 0.03% killedPropionibacterium spp. bacteria as a percent of dry matter.